Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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Careful There, Dems, These Are Your Voters
by Kerry Dougherty I’m not in the habit of offering political advice to Democrats, but they might want to consider toning down the “convicted felon” rhetoric. Ever since Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony charges in New York, the left has become a Greek chorus, chanting “convicted felon” every time they mention his name.…
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Before the Bill of Rights, There was the Virginia Declaration of Rights
by Thomas M. Moncure, Jr. Reliable estimates place the number of Virginia residents born outside the United States at 12% to 15%. In 2012, for the first time since about 1650, a majority of residents were born outside of Virginia. And this native count includes first-borns who live in homes where Farsi or Hindi or…
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The Society that Guns Have Made
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A recent event in Ohio is a vivid illustration of what we are coming to as a society in which firearms are ubiquitous. Here is an excerpt from a long article in The New York Times in which the incident is described: Mr. [Jason] Keys and his wife, Charae Williams Keys, were…
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UVA Grad Students Urge Withholding of Year-End Grades
by James A. Bacon The United Campus Workers of Virginia (UCWVA) at the University of Virginia has launched a campaign urging faculty and graduate students to withhold grades until the Ryan administration capitulates to its demands of amnesty for people arrested during the May 4 crackdown on the pro-Palestinian “liberation zone.” “UVA exec admin stood…
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Governor Leaves Consistency and Principle Behind
by Dick Hall-Sizemore With his proposed amendments to legislation regulating “games of skill,” Gov. Youngkin has demonstrated deep inconsistencies, if not outright hypocrisy. Before getting into the specifics, a little background is needed. “Games of skill” are machines on which people can play and win money. The proponents of the machines claim that some element…
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Eclipsing Speech in RVA
by Jon Baliles Last month, City Council applied a few new stringent guardrails to public comment at Council meetings by altering their Rules of Procedure under the guise of “streamlining” meetings. Now, I am all for free speech, but I also understand that people showing up to Council meetings to push for a ceasefire, fight…
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Jewish Parents Decry Double Standards at UVA
by James A. Bacon A half year after Hamas terrorists assaulted Israel, hostility at the University of Virginia toward Israel and Jews is unrelenting, according to parents of Jewish students there. In collaboration with other parents, Julie Pearl complained in a letter Tuesday to Rector Robert Hardie that a “blatant double standard against Jewish students…
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VCU Wins Free Speech “Green Light” Rating
by James A. Bacon Congratulations to Virginia Commonwealth University for winning a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) after making conscientious efforts to improve its formal free-speech policies. VCU is now one of five universities in Virginia and only 64 nationwide with the designation. Since 2018, VCU revised several…
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RVA HISTORY: Schools Are for Learning
by Jon Baliles The effort to save the old Richmond Community Hospital (RCH) from Virginia Union’s wrecking ball raises an interesting debate about recognizing history, remembering history, and benefitting by learning from history. Especially when one program is established that then becomes part of a bigger effort and very especially when it is used to…
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UVA Leadership Squelches Debate About University’s Antisemitism Problem
by James A. Bacon During the University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting Thursday, Provost Ian Baucom briefed board members on what the administration was doing to defuse tensions in the UVA community between Jews and the vocal pro-Palestinian faction over the Israel-Gaza war. He mentioned “sustained academic programming” to illuminate sources of the decades-long conflict. He…
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Common Sense from Young Delegate Earley
by Gordon C. Morse Occasionally, a member of the House of Delegates will stand up, speak to a matter of public interest and do so coherently. Del. Mark L. Earley Jr., R-Chesterfield, achieved this feat on Friday afternoon, Feb. 23, 2024, when he offered his thoughts on state Sen. Bill 212 — legislation that would…
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The Speaker Rules
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure, after the Governor, in Virginia state government. Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), elevated to the position this session after only two terms in the House, has let the power go to his head. Rather than acting like…
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RVA HISTORY: Strides of Strength
by Jon Baliles Richmond unveiled a new sculpture last week on the site of the old Westhampton School (near St. Mary’s Hospital) that marked the desegregation of the West-End school in 1961. The 12-foot piece, entitled “Strides,” marks that day when 12-year old student Daisy Jane Cooper (now Jane Cooper Johnson) arrived as the first…
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Barbie, Liars, and Newspapers Circling the Drain
by Kerry Dougherty Warning: I’m a tad grouchy today. You see, I’m a hyperactive gym rat who hasn’t worked out since last Tuesday and has been slowed down by surgery. That happened Wednesday, by the way, when a skilled orthopedic surgeon sawed off part of my leg. In other words, I’ve had way too much…
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Right to Life March Falls on Deaf Ears as Dobbs Makes Abortion Issue More Difficult for Republicans
by Ken Reid The 50th annual pro-life march took place in DC January 19; it has been held every year since 1974, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, that women had a constitutional protection for abortion, and thus negated 50 state laws regulating the procedure. It was cold and…